Non-fungible token ownership registration and verification system

ABSTRACT

Methods and systems related to non-fungible token (NFT) verification are disclosed herein. The systems and methods allow verifiers to conduct an ownership verification process in a frictionless and efficient manner without the need to understand and implement complex cryptographic algorithms and blockchain technologies. A disclosed system for verifying an NFT is a blockchain shell which accepts an NFT owner identifier from a verifier, verifies an NFT, and returns ownership verification data to a verifier device. Numerous approaches for registering NFT ownership with the blockchain shell, generating, transferring, and accepting the NFT owner identifier, and verifying NFT ownership using the NFT owner identifier are disclosed herein.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional PatentApplication No. 63/318,818 filed Mar. 11, 2022, which is incorporated byreference herein in its entirety for all purposes.

BACKGROUND

Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) are ledger entries stored on a blockchainthat indicate both an ownership right of a distinct asset and an ownerof that ownership right. Common NFTs include those minted using theERC-721 and ERC-1155 standards on the Ethereum blockchain and theMetaplex Protocol on the Solana blockchain. In these examples, theledger entry includes an NFT identifier associated with the distinctasset, paired with a public identifier associated with the owner. Thepublic identifier associated with the owner can be referred to as thepublic wallet identifier for the owner. The ledger entry can be found inthe blockchain using an NFT address. In other words, the NFT address canbe used to search the blockchain to find the NFT identifier and thepublic wallet identifier.

Ownership of an NFT can be verified using a verification process agreedupon by the owner of the NFT and the verifier. As used throughout thisdisclosure “ownership verification” means verifying that an entity isthe owner associated with the public identifier in a ledger entry on ablockchain. Standard ownership verification processes do not require thecreation of an entry on the blockchain, but they do involve the use ofcryptographic technology that is in accordance with the encryptionstandards used by the blockchain. The verification process begins by theowner of the NFT (i.e., the owner) and the person requestingverification of ownership (i.e., the verifier) agreeing on an arbitrarymessage (e.g., “I am the owner”). The next step involves the ownerencrypting the message using the owner's private key. The next stepinvolves the verifier decrypting the message using the public key. Inmany cases the public key is the public wallet identifier itself. Owingto the fundamental cryptographic principles which underly nearly allblockchain technology, if the decryption process is successful, theverifier will know that the owner is in possession of the private keyand is indeed the owner of the NFT but will not need to access theprivate key to do so.

While the ownership verification process described in the priorparagraph will be considered rudimentary to those of ordinary skill inthe art of blockchain technology, it is not simple for people that arenot fortunate enough to have such backgrounds. Furthermore, even armedwith an understanding of how such a process is conducted, people willexperience various difficulties when attempting to implement such aprocess. For example, executing the algorithms involved with encryptingand decrypting the arbitrary message can be difficult, and thelogistical and administrative burdens associated with accessing theblockchain at a specific NFT address, obtaining the public key, andagreeing upon the message used for verification are likewisenon-trivial. As such, systems and methods that allow verifiers toconduct an ownership verification process in a frictionless andefficient manner, without the need to understand and implement complexcryptographic algorithms, or the requirement for specialized hardware orsoftware applications and/or other blockchain technologies, can providea significant benefit to the widespread utilization of NFTs.

SUMMARY

This disclosure relates generally to token verification and morespecifically to non-fungible token (NFT) verification. As used in thisdisclosure, verifying an NFT includes both verifying the validity of anNFT and verifying NFT ownership. Using specific embodiments of thesystems and methods disclosed herein, individuals and companies canverify an NFT without the need to execute complex cryptographicalgorithms. In specific embodiments, NFT ownership can be registered andverified using a blockchain shell system that provides an interfacebetween the blockchain and users that are interested in verifying NFTswithout those users needing to interact directly with the blockchain oradministrate the execution of cryptographic algorithms. As used herein,the term blockchain shell system refers to any system that allows forthe isolation of a verifier from the need to interface with a blockchainwhile still providing the ability to verify ownership rights recorded onthat blockchain. Accordingly, in specific embodiments of the invention,verifying ownership can be as simple as scanning a QR code or reading acode using NFC and passing the obtained information to the blockchainshell system. Furthermore, in specific embodiments disclosed herein, theownership of a Near-Field Communication (NFC) can be verified withoutthe verifier, blockchain shell system, or any other party needing toexecute a cryptographic algorithm thereby reducing the computationalresources consumed in the verification of NFT ownership.

In specific embodiments of the invention, NFT verification can beconducted while an owner and a verifier are in the same locale. Forexample, the NFT could be associated with a distinct asset in the formof the right to occupy a space in a live event such as a concert,conference, or professional sports event. The verification process caninclude the blockchain shell registering the NFT and generating orobtaining an NFT owner identifier for the NFT, the owner presenting aphysical representation of the NFT owner identifier at the locale, andthe verifier using the physical representation and a connection to theblockchain shell system to verify the NFT. The physical representationcould be provided by the owner using a first device (e.g., an ownerdevice) and accepted by the verifier using a second device (e.g., averifier device). The physical representation could be anelectromagnetic encoding such as a short range ultraviolet or radiosignal such as a NFC signal, an auditory encoding such as a sonic pulseor frequency modulated signal, a visual encoding such as a QR code or 2Dbar code, and various other potential physical representations that canbe presented by an owner to a verifier at a locale. The physicalrepresentation can be stored on and presented by an application on asmartphone, tablet or computer of a user. For example, the physicalrepresentation could be a QR code or an RFID encoding which is part ofon an electronic identification card stored in a wallet application on asmartphone. In specific embodiments of the invention, the walletapplication could allow a user to manage, store, and present manydifferent NFTs from within the wallet application as needed.

In specific embodiments of the invention, a method for verifying an NFTis provided. The method comprises receiving an NFT owner identifier froma verifier device, where the NFT owner identifier was transferred froman owner device to the verifier device at a locale, using a physicalrepresentation of the NFT owner identifier. The method also comprisesverifying ownership of an NFT using the NFT owner identifier. The methodalso comprises returning ownership verification data of the NFT to theverifier device.

In specific embodiments of the invention, one or more non-transitorycomputer-readable media storing instructions that, when executed by oneor more processors, cause a system to execute a method for verifying anNFT are provided. The method comprises receiving an NFT owner identifierfrom a verifier device. The NFT owner identifier was transferred from anowner device to the verifier device, at a locale, using a physicalrepresentation of the NFT owner identifier. The method also comprisesverifying ownership of an NFT using the NFT owner identifier. The methodalso comprises returning ownership verification data of the NFT to theverifier device.

In specific embodiments of the invention, a system for verifying an NFTis provided. The system comprises a server configured to receive an NFTowner identifier from a verifier device, wherein the NFT owneridentifier was transferred from an owner device to the verifier device,at a locale, using a physical representation of the NFT owneridentifier. The server is further configured to verify ownership of anNFT using the NFT owner identifier. The server is further configured toreturn ownership verification data of the NFT to the verifier device.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings illustrate various embodiments of systems,methods, and embodiments of various other aspects of the disclosure. Aperson with ordinary skills in the art will appreciate that theillustrated element boundaries (e.g., boxes, groups of boxes, or othershapes) in the figures represent one example of the boundaries. It maybe that in some examples one element may be designed as multipleelements or that multiple elements may be designed as one element. Insome examples, an element shown as an internal component of one elementmay be implemented as an external component in another, and vice versa.Furthermore, elements may not be drawn to scale. Non-limiting andnon-exhaustive descriptions are described with reference to thefollowing drawings. The components in the figures are not necessarily toscale, emphasis instead being placed upon illustrating principles.

FIG. 1 includes a flow chart for a set of methods and a block diagram ofa system for verifying an NFT in accordance with specific embodiments ofthe invention disclosed herein.

FIG. 2 includes a flow chart for a set of methods and a block diagram ofa system for registering an NFT in accordance with specific embodimentsof the invention disclosed herein.

FIG. 3 includes a flow chart for a set of methods and a block diagram ofa system for registering an NFT and storing personal information for anNFT owner in accordance with specific embodiments of the inventiondisclosed herein.

FIG. 4 includes a flow chart for a set of methods and a block diagram ofa system for registering an NFT while transferring an NFT to an owner inaccordance with specific embodiments of the invention disclosed herein.

FIG. 5 includes a flow chart for a set of methods and a block diagram ofa system for registering an NFT by verifying ownership using theblockchain associated with the NFT in accordance with specificembodiments of the invention disclosed herein.

FIG. 6 includes a flow chart for a set of methods and a block diagram ofa system for verifying an NFT by verifying ownership using theblockchain associated with the NFT in accordance with specificembodiments of the invention disclosed herein.

FIG. 7 includes a flow chart for a set of methods and a block diagram ofa system for verifying an NFT by searching an internal database of ablockchain shell system in accordance with specific embodiments of theinvention disclosed herein.

FIG. 8 includes a flow chart for a set of methods and a block diagram ofa system for verifying an NFT by searching an internal database of ablockchain shell system and searching for an entry in a blockchainassociated with the NFT in accordance with specific embodiments of theinvention disclosed herein.

FIG. 9 includes a rendering of an electronic identification card with anNFT owner identifier in the form of a QR code for presentation on anowner device in accordance with specific embodiments of the inventiondisclosed herein.

FIG. 10 includes a flow chart for a set of methods and a block diagramof a system for offering an incentive for a personal informationdisclosure along with verifying an NFT in accordance with specificembodiments of the invention disclosed herein.

FIG. 11 includes a rendering of an ownership verification page withownership verification data of an NFT for presentation on a verifierdevice in accordance with specific embodiments of the inventiondisclosed herein.

FIG. 12 is a flow chart for a set of methods for verifying ownership ofan NFT in accordance with specific embodiments of the inventiondisclosed herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Reference will now be made in detail to implementations and embodimentsof various aspects and variations of systems and methods describedherein. Although several exemplary variations of the systems and methodsare described herein, other variations of the systems and methods mayinclude aspects of the systems and methods described herein combined inany suitable manner having combinations of all or some of the aspectsdescribed.

Different systems and methods associated with token verification inaccordance with the summary above will be described in detail in thisdisclosure. The methods and systems disclosed in this section arenonlimiting embodiments of the invention, are provided for explanatorypurposes only, and should not be used to constrict the full scope of theinvention. It is to be understood that the disclosed embodiments may ormay not overlap with each other. Thus, part of one embodiment, orspecific embodiments thereof, may or may not fall within the ambit ofanother, or specific embodiments thereof, and vice versa. Differentembodiments from different aspects may be combined or practicedseparately. Many different combinations and sub-combinations of therepresentative embodiments shown within the broad framework of thisinvention, that may be apparent to those skilled in the art but notexplicitly shown or described, should not be construed as precluded.

Methods for verifying a nonfungible token (NFT) in accordance with thesummary above comprise several steps. The steps can be conducted by asystem including a blockchain shell system providing verificationservices. For example, the steps of receiving an NFT owner identifier,verifying ownership of an NFT, and returning ownership verification datain accordance with the summary above can all be conducted by ablockchain shell system. The blockchain shell system can be a webaccessible service or can be accessed through APIs accessed byapplications stored on various devices. The blockchain shell system canbe implemented by one or more servers and one or more databases. Theblockchain shell system can have access to one or more blockchains forwhich it is providing verification services.

FIG. 1 provides a flow chart 100 for a set of methods of verifying anNFT and a block diagram 110 of a system for verifying an NFT inaccordance with specific embodiments of the inventions disclosed herein.The steps of flow chart 100 include a step 101 of receiving an NFT owneridentifier from a verifier device. The NFT owner identifier can havebeen transferred from an owner device to the verifier device, at alocale, using a physical representation of the NFT owner identifier. Thesteps of flow chart 100 also include a step 102 of verifying ownershipof the NFT using the NFT owner identifier. The steps of flow chart 100also include a step 103 of returning ownership verification data of theNFT to the verifier device.

The steps of flow chart 100 can be conducted by a blockchain shellsystem. The blockchain shell system can be at least partiallyinstantiated by one or more servers, as represented by server 111 inblock diagram 110. The steps of the flow chart 100 can be conducted byone or more servers, as represented by server 111 in block diagram 110,configured to execute those steps. The servers can be configured toexecute those steps by storing executable instructions to do so, byhaving a network connection to a verifier device and optionally to anowner device, and by having access to an internal database and/or ablockchain. One or more non-transitory computer-readable media, such asthe main memories of the aforementioned one or more servers asrepresented by server 111, can store instructions that, when executed byone or more processors, such as the processors of the aforementioned oneor more servers as represented by server 111, cause a system to executemethods in accordance with the steps in flow chart 100.

The steps of the methods for verifying NFTs can involve a verifierdevice operated by a user who is attempting to verify an NFT (i.e., averifier). The verifier device can be a smartphone, personal computer,laptop, point-of-sale terminal, dedicated scanning device, accesscontrol panel or dedicated scanner, wearable, or any other passive oractive electronic device. For example, the verifier device could be adedicated scanning device 112 as in block diagram 110. Dedicatedscanning device 112 includes a display, a user interface in the form ofa keypad, and an optical scanning device in the form of a visible lightcamera 113. In specific embodiments of the invention, the verifierdevice can do one or more of: obtain an NFT owner identifier, transmitthe NFT owner identifier to the blockchain shell system, and receivingreturned ownership verification data from the blockchain shell system.Each of those individual steps can be conducted by the same verifierdevice. Alternatively, one or more of those individual steps can beconducted by separate devices associated with the verifier. In theexample of FIG. 1 , dedicated scanning device 112 obtains the NFT owneridentifier from an owner device as described below, transmits an NFTowner identifier 114 to a blockchain shell system implemented at leastin part by server 111, and receives returned ownership verification data115 back from the block chain shell system implemented at last in partby server 111.

The steps of the methods for verifying NFTs can also involve an ownerdevice operated by a user who owns the NFT and is attempting to allow averifier to verify their NFT ownership (i.e., an owner). The ownerdevice can be any of the types of devices mentioned above with respectto the verifier device. In the example of block diagram 110, the ownerdevice is a smartphone 116. In specific implementations, the ownerdevice can do one or more of: storing the NFT owner identifier,presenting the NFT owner identifier to a verifier device, andtransferring the NFT owner identifier from the owner device to theverifier device. The manner in which the NFT owner identifier ispresented and transferred will depend on the characteristics of theowner device, the verifier device, and the physical representation ofthe NFT owner identifier. For example, if the NFT owner identifier werein the form of an audio signal, the NFT owner identifier would bepresented by being played by a speaker on the owner device, and would betransferred via the sound waves as generated by the owner device andcaptured by a microphone on the verifier device. As another example, thephysical representation of the NFT owner identifier could be a visualencoding (e.g., QR code 117) presented on a display of an owner device(e.g., smartphone 116). In this example, the NFT owner identifier (e.g.,NFT owner identifier 114) is transferred from the owner device (e.g.,smartphone 116) to the verifier device (e.g., dedicated scanning device112) using an optical sensor (e.g., visible light camera 113) on theverifier device. In alternative approaches, the owner device is not arequired element of the system as the NFT owner identifier could take ona physical representation that does not depend on an electronic devicesuch as a passive visual encoding (e.g., on an article of clothing orpiece of paper), a biometric, a code entered on a verifier device by anowner, or a password spoken into a microphone of a verifier device by anowner.

Depending upon the embodiment utilized, the ownership verification datacan take on various forms. For example, if what you have verification orwhat you know verification is considered enough, the mere fact that theowner identifier was presented by an owner and is stored in a databaseaccessible to the blockchain shell system would be enough in order forthe ownership verification data to be a binary output (e.g., a symbolsuch as a checkmark indicating that ownership was verified or an “X”indicating that ownership was not verified). In alternative approaches,the owner identifier and an NFT identifier are both sent from theverifier device, and the fact that the owner identifier was presentedand stored in a database accessible to the blockchain shell system inassociation with the NFT identifier is enough in order for the ownershipverification data to be a similar binary output. If what-you-have andwho-you-are verification is required, the ownership verification datacould alternatively or in combination include personal identifyinginformation such as a full name of a user or a phone number of the user.The ownership verification data could be stored by the blockchain shellsystem in association with the owner identifier and an optional NFTidentifier. The personal identifying information could then be providedto the verifier device, in response to a search for the owneridentifier, to allow the verifier to confirm identification using theownership verification data (e.g., by requesting a drivers license forthe owner or by sending an SMS confirmation to a phone number of theowner).

Depending upon the embodiment utilized, the NFT owner identifier cantake on various forms. For example, the NFT owner identifier can begenerated by the blockchain shell system and stored internally for laterverification. The NFT owner identifier could be a random string ofcharacters generated by a random character generator administrated bythe blockchain shell system, a random collection of frequencies andamplitudes, or any kind of digital encoding generated by the blockchainshell system to be used as the NFT owner identifier. Alternatively, theNFT owner identifier can be external information obtained by theblockchain shell system. The obtained NFT owner identifier can then bestored by the blockchain shell system for later verification. Forexample, the NFT owner identifier could be a full legal name of theowner of the NFT or an NFT owner identifier directly associated with theblockchain itself such as a public wallet identifier for the NFT.

As applied in specific embodiments described below, the NFT owneridentifier issued by the blockchain shell system can be a private NFTowner identifier or a public NFT owner identifier. The private NFT owneridentifier could be issued to the owner and stored on an owner device inan encrypted format such that it can be exchanged with the blockchainshell system through a verifier device or any public network whileremaining private. In these embodiments, the NFT owner identifier couldbe transferred from an owner device through a verifier device inencrypted format such that the verifier device could be assured by theblockchain shell system that they had passed an NFT owner identifierprovided by a specific owner while not obtaining access to theunderlying NFT owner identifier. In alternative embodiments, the NFTowner identifier issued by the blockchain shell system can be a publicNFT owner identifier such as a full legal name of the owner or a publicwallet identifier of the NFT as stored on the blockchain.

A blockchain shell system in accordance with specific embodiments of theinvention disclosed herein can verify ownership of an NFT in variousways. The system can verify ownership on demand in response to a requestfrom a verifier and ex ante in response to an action taken by or onbehalf of the owner. In either case, ownership verification can beconducted as part of a registration of the NFT with the system.Registration of the NFT with the blockchain shell system providescertain benefits in that later verification requests can be conductedentirely within the blockchain shell system and may only require adouble check review of the public information on the associatedblockchain to confirm ownership. In embodiments in which the blockchainshell system controls ownership of the NFT (e.g., because it holds theNFT custodially for the owner or because it owns the NFT), the doublecheck back to the blockchain may be skipped.

Ex ante ownership verification and registration of an NFT in accordancewith specific embodiments of the invention disclosed herein can beconducted in various ways. Ex ante ownership verification of an NFT canbe conducted by the blockchain shell system minting the NFT, by theblockchain shell system administrating a transfer of ownership of theNFT from a custodial wallet to the owner's personal wallet, by theblockchain shell system administering a transfer of ownership on asecondary market administrated by the blockchain shell system, or by theblockchain shell system onboarding an NFT at the request of the owner.In the case of minting an NFT, transferring an NFT to an owner, oradministrating a secondary market transfer of the NFT, the blockchainshell system provides ownership verification services as it records whothe owner of the newly minted NFT is or who the current owner of the NFTis on the secondary market. In the case of minting the NFT oradministrating the transfer of the NFT, registering the NFT with theblockchain shell system can include creating an entry on the blockchainwith an NFT owner identifier that directly identifies the owner, or byupdating the internal records of the blockchain shell system while acustodial wallet identifier used by the blockchain shell system isrecorded on the blockchain. In the case of onboarding an NFT, theblockchain shell system can administrate the kinds of ownershipverification procedures typically conducted to verify NFT ownership,such as those described in the background above. For example, theblockchain shell system could request that the owner encrypt a messagewith a private key associated with the NFT. After ownership verificationis proved to the blockchain shell system in this manner, the NFT can beregistered with the blockchain shell system such that laterverifications of ownership can be conducted internally to the blockchainshell system.

Registration of a NFT in accordance with specific embodiments of theinvention disclosed herein can additionally include the onboarding ofpersonal information to be shared with a network of verifiers inexchange for incentives provided to the owners of the NFT. The personalinformation can include at least one of a full legal name of the ownerof the NFT, a street address of the owner of the NFT, an email addressof the owner of the NFT, and a mobile phone number of the owner of theNFT. Alternatively, or in combination, the personal information caninclude commercial interests of the NFT owner, spending patterns of theNFT owner, and other consumer profile information. The personalinformation can be entered manually by the user or pulled frominformation sources available to the blockchain shell system uponauthorization from the user. For example, the email history or paymentservice history of a user could be scanned to determine interests andspending patterns of the owner. The information could be stored in adatabase administrated by the blockchain shell system. The registrationcould include providing the user with the ability to share theinformation in the first place and the ability to configure how specifictypes of information were shared with verifiers. For example, the ownercould set the system to always share all their personal information withall verifiers, partially share some personal information with specificverifiers, not share personal information with any verifiers, and anycombination thereof. The owner could be provided with a personalinformation disclosure inventive in exchange for allowing the sharing ofthis information as will be explained in more detail below.

FIG. 2 provides a flow chart 200 for a set of methods of registering anNFT and a block diagram 210 of a system for registering an NFT inaccordance with specific embodiments of the inventions disclosed herein.The steps of flow chart 200 include a step 201 of registering the NFTwith a blockchain shell system. The registering step includes a step 202of generating an NFT owner identifier. The registering step furtherincludes a step 203 of storing an NFT owner identifier on an ownerdevice. The block diagram 210 includes a blockchain 211, a blockchainshell system 212 and an owner device 213.

Registering the NFT with the blockchain shell system can be accompaniedby generating an NFT owner identifier such as in step 202. In specificembodiments, the step can be conducted such that the NFT owneridentifier internally identifies the owner of the owner device in theblockchain shell system and can be used within the blockchain shellsystem. The NFT owner identifier can be a string of characters or otherdata that identifies an owner. The NFT owner identifier can be randomlyassigned such as by being a random and unique data set within the systemor it can be based on data regarding the owner such as a hash ofpersonal information regarding the user or an identifier of the ownerdevice itself. In specific embodiments, the NFT owner identifier can begenerated for storage locally on the blockchain shell system and on theowner device. The NFT owner identifier can be stored on the blockchainshell system in association with an NFT identifier such that ownershipof a particular NFT is recorded by the blockchain shell system.

In specific embodiments of the invention, an NFT owner identifier can bestored on an owner's device after it has been obtained or generated bythe blockchain shell system as in step 203 of flow chart 200, and theNFT owner identifier can internally identify an owner of the ownerdevice in the blockchain shell system. As shown in block diagram 210,blockchain shell system 212 can access and/or write to blockchain 211 toregister an NFT with the blockchain shell system 212 and can thengenerate an owner identifier and transfer the owner identifier to anowner device 213. The owner's device can be equipped with the capabilityto uniquely present the NFT owner identifier and may present theidentifier in an encrypted encoding. Registering an NFT with theblockchain shell system can also include the blockchain shell systemstoring an NFT owner identifier in a database (e.g., database 214 of theblockchain shell system 212) in association with an identifier for theNFT. Storing the owner identifier in a database in association with theidentifier for the NFT can comprise storing the two elements of data ina relational database as two entries that are accessible from a singledatabase key.

Registering an NFT with the blockchain shell system may additionally orin the alternative include storing ownership verification data inassociation with the NFT or with the NFT owner identifier in theblockchain shell system. The ownership verification data could be a fulllegal name of the owner, metadata stored with the NFT on the blockchain,the NFT address, and any other information that can be used to verifythe owner's identity or to assist in the verification of ownership. Theownership verification data could be stored in association with theowner identifier and could also be stored in association with an NFTidentifier for the NFT.

FIG. 3 provides a flow chart 300 for a set of methods of registering anNFT and a block diagram 310 of a system for registering an NFT inaccordance with specific embodiments of the inventions disclosed herein.The steps of flow chart 300 include a step 301 of storing ownershipverification data or personal identification information for an owner ofan NFT. The ownership verification data can be a full legal name for theowner of an NFT. The data can be stored in a database of the blockchainshell system (e.g., database 214). As illustrated in block diagram 310,this step can include storing a full legal name 311 of an owner of anNFT in a database 214. The full legal name can be received from an ownerdevice (e.g., owner device 213) during registration of the NFT. Thepersonal identification information or ownership verification data canbe solicited from the owner during the registration process. Thepersonal identification information can be solicited in exchange for anincentive. The personal identification information or ownershipverification data can be sent using the same device used by the owner toverify ownership of the NFT or from a different device.

FIG. 4 provides a flow chart 400 for a set of methods of registering anNFT and a block diagram 410 of a system for registering an NFT inaccordance with specific embodiments of the inventions disclosed herein.The steps of flow chart 400 include a step 201 of registering the NFTwith a blockchain shell system. The registering step includes a step 401of transferring the NFT to the owner via an entry on a blockchain. Theblock diagram 410 includes a blockchain transfer request 411 being sentby blockchain shell system 212 to record the transfer. This requestrepresents a request sent by the blockchain shell system to either minta new NFT on the chain in the name of the owner or to transfer anexisting NFT from one owner to the owner. Once the blockchain processesthe transfer, the owner of the NFT will be the intended owner. Theblockchain shell system can then optionally generate an NFT owneridentifier for the owner and store it in a database in association withan identifier of the NFT. Alternatively, the NFT owner identifier canjust be the public wallet ID of the owner as recorded on the block chainin response to blockchain transfer request 411. The blockchain shellsystem can then store the owner identifier in association with anidentification of the NFT in a database and transit the owner identifierto the owner device 413. The blockchain shell system can require anyform of owner identification or monetary compensation prior toregistering the NFT to the user in this manner.

FIG. 5 provides a flow chart 500 for a set of methods of registering anNFT and a block diagram 510 of a system for registering an NFT inaccordance with specific embodiments of the inventions disclosed herein.The ceps of flow chart 500 include a step 501 of accessing theblockchain to find a public key associated with an NFT to be registeredand a step 502 of requesting a message encrypted with a private keyassociated with the NFT. As shown in block diagram 510, the registrationprocess can commence with an owner device 511 transmitting aregistration request 512 to blockchain shell system 212. Blockchainshell system 212 can then parse the registration request 512 to findwhat NFT is implicated by the registration request 512. Blockchain shellsystem 212 can then conduct step 501 and access blockchain 211 via asearch query 513 to find a public key 514 associated with the NFT.Blockchain shell system 212 can then conduct step 502 to send anencryption request 516 with a message to owner device 511 requestingthat owner device 511 encrypt the message with the private keyassociated with ownership of the NFT. The owner device 511 can thenreturn an encrypted message 517. The blockchain shell system 212 canthen decrypt the message using the public key and, assuming the privatekey really was available to owner device 511, the ownership of the NFTwill have been verified by the blockchain shell system 212. Theblockchain shell system 212 can then generate or obtain an ownershipidentifier for the owner and store it in association with an NFTidentifier for the NFT.

Using the approach outlined with reference to FIG. 5 an owner canonboard their NFTs to the blockchain shell system for verification inaccordance with embodiments disclosed herein. In alternativeembodiments, owner device 511 can instead be an administrator operatinga custodial wallet or set of wallets for users that will use NFTs mintedor held by the administrator. In these embodiments, the blockchain shellcould generate and transmit owner identifiers to the administrator todistribute to its users after the NFTs are registered.

On demand NFT ownership verification can be conducted in various ways.In specific embodiments of the invention, on demand ownershipverification can be conducted entirely within the blockchain shellsystem. In these embodiments, if the NFT were previously registered withthe blockchain shell system, verification could be conducted byaccessing the internal databases of the blockchain shell system usingthe NFT owner identifier to see if the NFT was previously registered andlooking up who the owner is. Alternatively, if the NFT was notpreviously registered, on demand NFT ownership verification couldinclude registering the NFT with the system. For example, receipt of anNFT owner identifier in the form of a public wallet identifier, couldtrigger the blockchain shell system to run a cryptographic ownerverification process with the owner. If the owner's contact informationwere stored by the blockchain shell system in association with thepublic wallet identifier, the owner could be contacted in this manner.If no such information were stored, the blockchain shell system couldask the verifier to obtain contact information from the owner tocontinue the registration flow.

NFT ownership verification conducted internally to the blockchain shellsystem could include a double check reference back to the blockchain toassure that the internal records of the blockchain shell system werecurrent and the NFT had not been transferred to a new owner externallyto the blockchain shell system. The reference could involve checking tosee if a public wallet identifier stored in association with the NFT inthe blockchain shell system still matched the public wallet identifierstored on the blockchain. The NFT address of the NFT could be stored inassociation with the NFT in the blockchain shell system to facilitatethis lookup. The double check could be conducted each time theblockchain shell system confirmed ownership. The double check could alsobe conducted on a periodic basis with a higher frequency allotted toNFTs that are not traded on a secondary market administrated by theblockchain shell system or custodially held by the blockchain shellsystem.

In specific embodiments of the invention, in demand owner verificationfor an NFT could be conducted similarly to the approach for registeringan NFT as disclosed in FIG. 5 . In these embodiments, the NFT may nothave been preregistered with the blockchain shell system and ownershipverification can include the blockchain shell system orchestrating acryptographic verification of the NFT ownership. In these embodiments,an owner could transfer an NFT owner identifier, in the form of a publicwallet identifier of the NFT, to a verifier, or could alternativelytransfer an NFT identifier to the verifier. The verifier could thenverify ownership using a process similar to that used in theregistration process in FIG. 5 . The NFT owner identifier could be apublic wallet identifier associated with the NFT on the blockchain.Verifying ownership of the NFT could then include accessing theblockchain and requesting a message to be encrypted with a private keyassociated with the public wallet identifier.

FIG. 6 includes a flow chart 600 for a set of methods for verifyingownership of an NFT and a block diagram 610 of a system for conductingthose methods. Flow chart 600 includes similar steps to that of flowchart 100 and block diagram 610 includes similar blocks to that of blockdiagram 110 which use the same reference numbers and are describedabove. Block diagram 610 differs in that server 111 is illustrated asbeing able to access blockchain 614. Furthermore, block diagram 610differs in that the dedicated verifier device 611 includes a keypadinstead of an optical scanner for receiving the NFT owner identifier.The identifier can be provided by the owner using any means. In theillustrated case, the identifier is provided by touch input 612 to thekeypad. Flow chart 600 differs in that the NFT owner identifier receivedin step 101 is a personal identification information 613 such as a fulllegal name of the owner which is provided along with an NFTidentification for the NFT. Flow chart 600 also differs in that theverifying ownership step 102 includes a step 601 of accessing theblockchain to obtain a public wallet identifier and a step 602 ofrequesting a message encrypted with a private key associated with thepublic wallet identifier. The accessing of the blockchain can beconducted by a server such as server 111 accessing a blockchain such asblockchain 614 using an access request such as access request 615 withthe NFT identification as a key with the public wallet identifier orpublic key of the NFT being provided in a response 616. Server can thenadministrate the transmission of a request for an encrypted message tothe owner of the NFT and can hold for a response. Upon receiving theresponse and decrypting it using the public wallet identifier or publickey, the server 111 can verify ownership of the NFT and return ownershipverification data to the dedicated verifier device 611.

FIG. 7 includes a flow chart 700 for a set of methods for verifyingownership of an NFT and a block diagram 710 of a system for conductingthose methods. Flow chart 700 includes similar steps to that of flowchart 100 and block diagram 710 includes similar blocks to that of blockdiagram 110 which use the same reference numbers and are describedabove. Flow chart 700 differs in that the verifying ownership stepincludes a step 701 of searching a database of the blockchain shellsystem for the NFT owner identifier. In these embodiments, theblockchain shell system has already registered an NFT such thatverification of ownership can be conducted internally. As shown in blockdiagram 710, upon receiving an NFT owner identifier and an NFTidentifier 711, server 111 can run a database access 712 of database 713using either value as a key and verify that the identified NFT is ownedby the identified owner. The ownership verification data that isreturned can include a binary indication that ownership was verified orcould include additional data such as personal identificationinformation 715 that can be used to allow a verifier to confirm that theperson that provided NFT owner identifier is the true recorded owner ofthe NFT. In specific embodiments where the NFT owner identifier is aprivate identifier or where what-you-have security is sufficient, thestep of returning the personal identification information does not needto be conducted.

FIG. 8 includes a flow chart 800 for a set of methods for verifyingownership of an NFT and a block diagram 810 of a system for conductingthose methods. Flow chart 800 includes similar steps to that of flowchart 100 and block diagram 810 includes similar blocks to that of blockdiagram 110 which use the same reference numbers and are describedabove. Flow chart 800 differs in that the verifying ownership stepincludes a step 801 searching a database of the blockchain shell systemfor a public wallet identifier using the NFT owner identifier, and astep 802 of accessing the blockchain to verify that the public walletidentifier is associated with the NFT on the blockchain. As shown inblock diagram 810, upon receiving an NFT owner identifier, server 111can run a database access 811 of database 812 using the NFT owneridentifier or an NFT identifier as a key and obtain the public walletidentifier associated with the NFT. Database 812 will include the NFTowner identifier and public wallet identifier (if those values aredifferent) stored in association with an NFT identifier as aregistration of ownership of the NFT. Server 111 can then eitherimmediately return ownership verification data 115 to dedicated scanningdevice 112, or it can double check that the NFT has not been transferredsince it was registered with the system. This process can then use thepublic wallet identifier, NFT address, or NFT identifier to accessblockchain 614 with an access request 813 to confirm that the publicwallet identifier is still associated with the NFT via a returnconfirmation 814 that the NFT identifier and public walled identifierstill correspond with the NFT in blockchain 614.

Methods in accordance with specific embodiments of the invention whichinclude a step of receiving an NFT owner identifier from a verifierdevice can do so in various ways. The step can be conducted by ablockchain shell system receiving the NFT owner identifier through a webconnection from a browser or an API connection from a dedicatedapplication. The browser or dedicated application can be on the verifierdevice. The NFT owner identifier can be transferred from a verifierdevice, such as a smartphone, to the blockchain shell system. Prior tobeing transferred to the blockchain shell system, the NFT owneridentifier can first be transferred from an owner device to the verifierdevice, at a locale, using a physical representation of the NFT owneridentifier.

The NFT owner identifier can be transferred to the verifier device usingvarious methods and the physical representation can take on variousforms. For example, the NFT owner identifier could be a visual encodingin a physical representation in the form of a QR code presented on apiece of paper, or presented on a display of an owner device, which isthen scanned by a verifier device with an optical sensor such as acamera. The physical representation could be an electromagnetic encodingsuch as a short range ultraviolet, infrared, or radio signal (e.g., ashort-range wireless connectivity technology such as NFC), an auditoryencoding such as a sonic pulsed or frequency modulated signal, a visualencoding such as a QR code or bar code, and various other potentialphysical representations that can be presented by an owner to a verifierat a locale. The verifier device used to receive the NFT owneridentifier can be any device with a sensor capable of capturing theencoding of the physical representation such as a camera, infraredscanner, ultraviolet scanner, microphone, or radio receiver. Forexample, the verifier device could be a smartphone or dedicated scanner.The owner device, if one is used, could be any device capable ofproviding the physical representation such as a device with a display,an infrared transmitter, a speaker, an RFID tag, a radio transmitter, orany other such device. For example, the owner device could be asmartphone. The physical representation can be stored on and presentedby an application on a smartphone of a user. The physical representationcan be an encoding of additional information besides the NFT owneridentifier such as information that identifies the NFT (e.g., an NFTaddress on the blockchain or an NFT identifier used internally by theblockchain shell system).

The physical representation can be stored in a digital wallet on anowner device. The physical representation can be part of an electronicidentification card stored in the digital wallet in a similar fashion tothe way credit cards and boarding passes are currently stored in digitalwallets. Those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that theterm “digital wallet” in this disclosure is being used to refer towallet applications such as those used for storing everyday paymentmethods, and the term “wallet” in all other instances is being used torefer to the blockchain construct that includes a public walletidentifier and associated private key.

An electronic identification card with an NFT owner identifier can beprovided to an owner for storage in an electronic wallet in variousways. The electronic identification card can be issued for the NFT owneridentifier. This process is illustrated in FIG. 9 which includes a step900 of issuing an electronic identification card 901 for the NFT owneridentifier. The identification card could be stored in a walletapplication on an owner device (e.g., an application on smartphone 116)and a physical representation of an NFT owner identifier could be partof the electronic identification card (e.g., QR code 902). For example,the electronic identification card can be issued by the blockchain shellsystem when the NFT is registered with the NFT shell system. In specificembodiments of the invention, the electronic identification card can beissued to a user in a manner such that it will only function whenoperating with the digital wallet of the owner of the NFT as registeredwith the blockchain shell system. In these embodiments, the fact that auser is able to present the NFT ownership identifier alone can be takenas a type of what-you-have security assurance provided on behalf of theblockchain shell system to the verifier. In alternative embodiments, theelectronic identification card can be issued by a third party so long asthe NFT owner identifier and physical representation are compatible withthe blockchain shell system and the verifier device that is used toreceive the NFT owner identifier. Such approaches will allow theblockchain shell system to onboard additional NFTs as part of theownership verification process. In these approaches, a verifier may beprovided with a prompt to request contact information from the owner inorder to allow the blockchain shell system to contact the owner directlyfor verification.

The physical representation can include additional information besidesthe NFT owner identifier. For example, the physical representation canalso include an identification of the NFT itself, metadata associatedwith the NFT, or other information regarding the owner. In this manner,the additional information can be provided from the verifier to theblockchain shell system to allow the blockchain shell system todetermine which NFT the verifier would like to verify ownership for. Theresponse from the blockchain shell system to the verifier could thenindicate that the NFT was valid and provide an identification of the NFTin addition to ownership verification data. However, this functionalitycan also be provided by the verifier device itself such that thephysical representation does not necessarily need to identify an NFT.For example, if the verifier had a relationship with the blockchainshell system to indicate which NFT ownership would be requested for,then this information would not need to be provided with every ownershipverification request. In keeping with this example, a verifier scanningQR codes and using the NFT blockchain shell to verify ownership of NFTsthat provide access to a live event could send a request to theblockchain shell to see if the NFT owner identifier was associated withan NFT that provided access to the live event, and the physicalrepresentation would not need to encode such information.

In specific embodiments of the invention, as part of the ownershipverification processes, owners of NFTs can be incentivized to disclosepersonal information to a verifier. The personal information can be theinformation obtained by the blockchain shell system during registrationof the NFT as described above. As mentioned previously, an NFT owner canbe incentivized during registration to set default sharing parametersfor sharing all of a subset of their personal data with verifiers. Inaccordance with the approaches represented by flow chart 1000 in FIG. 10and others like them the incentive can also be provided at the time ofownership verification. For example, a user can be issued an NFT that isregistered with the blockchain shell system from a merchant such as byscanning a QR code at a live sporting event. The owner of this newlyissued NFT, who is registered with the blockchain shell system, can thenproceed to redeem or otherwise verify ownership of the NFT with averifier. At the time of doing so, the owner could be incentivized todisclose personal information, such as an email address, with theverifier. The incentive could be a discount on products or servicesoffered by the verifier. Alternatively, the owner could have beenincentivized while registering with the blockchain shell systemoriginally to share personal information and be rewarded the incentiveupon the information being shared with a verifier.

FIG. 10 includes a flow chart 1000 for a set of methods for verifyingownership of an NFT while incentivizing the disclosure of personalinformation to a verifier, and a block diagram 1010 of a system forconducting those methods. Flow chart 1000 includes similar steps to thatof flow chart 100 and block diagram 1010 includes similar blocks to thatof block diagram 110 which use the same reference numbers and aredescribed above. Flow chart 1000 differs in that the flow chart includesa step 1001 of sending a personal information disclosure incentive for apersonal information disclosure authorization to the owner device, astep 1002 of receiving the personal information disclosure authorizationfrom the owner device, and a step 1003 of releasing the personalinformation after: (i) receiving the personal information disclosureauthorization; and (ii) verifying ownership of the NFT using the NFTowner identifier. The incentive can be sent from the blockchain shellsystem to the owner device using an address of the owner device storedby the blockchain shell system such as an email address or mobile phonenumber associated with the account. For example, a personal informationdisclosure incentive 1101 could be sent from server 111 to smartphone116 for consideration by the owner. The personal information disclosureauthorization could be returned from the owner device to the blockchainshell system if the owner feels sufficiently incentivized to disclosethe requested personal information. For example, a button for approvalcould be presented on smartphone 116 along with the incentive and adescription of the information requested, and a personal informationdisclosure authorization 1102 could then be sent from smartphone 116back to server 111 upon a user clicking the button to provide approval.If the user elected to decline the offer, a different button could bepushed and the incentive would not be rewarded. After the personalinformation disclosure authorization was received and the ownership ofthe NFT was verified, the personal information could be released fromthe blockchain shell system and shared with the verifier.

FIG. 9 is an example of a display on an owner device presenting aphysical representation of an NFT owner identifier along with additionalinformation. In the illustrated case, the physical representation is anQR code and the additional information includes metadata from the NFTand accompanying illustrations and other data. As mentioned previously,the accompanying illustrations and other data can be generated by theblockchain shell system when the NFT is registered with the system. Thepresented images and information could constitute the main content of anelectronic identification card stored in a wallet application on theowner device. In a specific implementation, the owner could havesearched through an electronic wallet application on their smartphone tofind and select the electronic identification card to present theinformation to a verifier on the display of their smartphone.

As described previously, the step of verifying ownership of an NFT usingthe owner identifier can be conducted in various ways based on thecharacteristics of the NFT owner identifier. In an example in accordancewith FIG. 9 , the physical representation of the NFT owner identifierwill be scanned by a verifier with a verifier device having an opticalcamera which will then transmit the NFT owner identifier to theblockchain shell system. Numerous alternative approaches are possiblefor how the NFT owner identifier is collected by the verifier device andtransferred to the blockchain shell system. The blockchain shell systemcan then user the NFT owner identifier to verify ownership of an NFT. Inspecific embodiments, additional information will be transferred fromthe verifier device to the blockchain shell system such as anidentification of the NFT for which ownership verification is beingrequested.

The blockchain shell system can verify ownership of an NFT in variousways. If the NFT owner identifier is a private identifier issued by theblockchain shell system, verifying ownership may only require checkingthat the NFT owner identifier is associated with a given NFT beforeownership is verified. In these embodiments, the application on theverifier's device used to harvest the private identifier can be designedby the blockchain shell system to assure that the verifier deviceremains private and encrypted end to end from the owner's device to theblockchain shell system. In these embodiments, the physicalrepresentation may be an encrypted encoding of the NFT owner identifier.In alternative approaches, if the NFT owner identifier is a less privatestring which internally identifies an owner of the NFT in the blockchainshell system, verifying ownership can comprise searching a database ofthe blockchain shell system for the NFT owner identifier using the NFTowner identifier. In these embodiments, if the NFT owner identifier isin the database, and is associated with a given NFT, then the blockchainshell system can verify ownership without necessarily having to accessexternal sources of information. Alternatively, the blockchain shellsystem can search the database for the NFT, if it was provided by theverifier device, and determine if the NFT owner identifier stored inassociation with the NFT matches the NFT owner identifier provided bythe verifier device.

In specific embodiments, the process of verifying ownership of the NFTinternally to the blockchain shell system can be paired with a doublecheck system in which a public wallet identifier and an NFT addressstored by the blockchain shell system are used to access the blockchainto verify that the public wallet identifier is associated with the NFTon the blockchain. Such an approach would assure that the ownership ofthe NFT had not changed on the blockchain without the blockchain shellbeing updated. In specific embodiments in which the NFT owner identifieris the public wallet identifier itself, this process could stillinvolve, or could skip, the intermediate step of checking the ownershiprecords on the blockchain shell system and instead jump to checking theblockchain directly.

In specific embodiments, the process of verifying ownership of the NFTcan include conducting a cryptographic verification of the ownership.For example, if no internal record was held to verify ownership, theblockchain shell system could access the blockchain and administratecommunicating with the owner in order to conduct such an action. If theNFT owner identifier is a public wallet identifier associated with theNFT on the blockchain, or if the public wallet identifier were storedwith the NFT owner identifier in the blockchain system, verifyingownership of the NFT could include accessing the blockchain andrequesting a message encrypted with a private key associated with thepublic wallet identifier. Such a process could include contacting theowner through a message sent back to the verifier to request contactinformation for the owner if the blockchain shell system does not havethe owner's contact information.

After verifying ownership of the NFT, the process can continue withreturning ownership verification data for the NFT to the verifierdevice. The ownership verification data can take numerous forms. Forexample, the ownership verification data could be a flag indicating thatthe NFT is owned by the person who presented the NFT ownershipidentifier. In these embodiments, ownership verification could beprovided in the form of what-you-have verification because the NFTownership identifier could only be presented by an electronic wallet, orsimilar application, on the owner's device as assured by the blockchainshell system. For example, an owner could register their phone with theblockchain shell system by installing an application which was securedby the pin to their phone or a biometric provided to the phone. Beingable to present the NFT ownership identifier would then serve asownership verification of the NFT. Alternatively, or in combination,ownership verification could be provided in the form of what-you-knowverification because the NFT ownership identifier is only known to theowner such as the secret key mentioned above. As another example, theownership verification data could be a full legal name of the userstored with the NFT ownership identifier that is pulled from theblockchain shell system and returned to the verifier. Ownershipverification could thereby be provided in the form of who-you-areverification as the verifier could confirm the identity of the personpresenting the NFT ownership identifier by checking a government issuedID or some other proof that they were the person having that full legalname. The ownership verification data returned to the verifier devicecould also include a picture of the owner or some alternative personaldata to allow a verifier to confirm ownership. In the case of theownership verification data being a picture of the owner, the blockchainshell system could validate the picture of the owner while registeringthe NFT with the blockchain shell system such as by requiring an ownerto present a government issued identification card as part of theregistration process.

The blockchain shell system can also pull additional information andreturn it to the verifier device such as the public wallet identifierfor the NFT, the NFT address of the NFT on the blockchain, the URL forthe publicly available blockchain entry, metadata associated with theNFT, and various other information. The publicly available blockchainentry will generally include the public wallet identifier and metadatafor the transaction that created the entry (i.e., the public walletidentifier of the current owner). As such, in specific embodiments, theadditional information can allow the verifier to double check that theblock chain information matches the information provided by theblockchain shell system. In the case of specific blockchain explorers amultitude of other data will be included in the publicly availableblockchain entry such as a history of past transactions and otherassociated information.

FIG. 11 is a rendering of an ownership verification page with ownershipverification data of an NFT for presentation on a verifier device inaccordance with specific embodiments of the invention disclosed herein.For example, the illustrated page could be displayed on the display of averifier's smartphone. This particular ownership verification pageincludes a link 1100 to the NFT on the blockchain which has been sentalong with the ownership verification data to allow the verifier todouble check the status of the NFT through direct access to a blockchainexplorer. The ownership verification data in this implementation hasbeen returned from the blockchain shell system in response to receipt ofthe NFT ownership identifier from the verifier's smartphone.Accordingly, the page is illustrated with a step 1201 of delivering alink to the NFT on the blockchain with the ownership verification datathat can be conducted along with step 103 in specific embodiments inaccordance with the flow charts presented herein. In the illustratedcase, the ownership verification data includes a name of the owner asregistered by the blockchain shell system and presented after the prompt“Owned By.” In the illustrated case, additional information was returnedsuch as metadata associated with the NFT (either stored on theblockchain or solely in the blockchain shell system), the public NFTaddress to allow the verifier to double check the blockchain, and a URLfor the publicly available blockchain entry. In situations in whicheither the NFT ownership identifier is the public wallet identifier forthe NFT or the blockchain shell system returns the public walletidentifier to the device along with the ownership verification data, theverifier can use the link to the NFT entry or the NFT address itself todouble check that the public wallet identifiers match.

FIG. 12 is a flow chart for a set of methods that illustrate and provideexamples for specific embodiments of the invention disclosed above. Theflow chart begins with a step of presenting an NFT owner identifier inthe form of a QR code, which is followed by the QR code being scanned bya verifier device. This action leads to a redirected to blockchain shellsystem validate NFT page. The blockchain shell database can then beaccessed to see if the NFT is validly held on the system. If the answeris no, the validate NFT page is populated with an “invalid or alteredtoken” message. If the answer is yes, the database is then accessed tofind the ownership data for the token to return to the verifier device.In the illustrated case, the ownership data and additional informationprovided back to the verifier device include the NFT owner's legal name,the NFT address, a link to view the NFT on a blockchain's publicexplorer system, and the last NFT public wallet identifier stored by theblockchain shell system. In a final step, the user can use theinformation provided to cross check the last NFT public walletidentifier stored by the blockchain shell system against the NFT publicwallet identifier on the blockchain explorer system. In specificembodiments of the invention, any mention of a physical representationin this disclosure could instead refer to a digital representation.

While the specification has been described in detail with respect tospecific embodiments of the invention, it will be appreciated that thoseskilled in the art, upon attaining an understanding of the foregoing,may readily conceive of alterations to, variations of, and equivalentsto these embodiments. For example, while the example of an NFT was usedthroughout this disclosure, some of the approaches disclosed herein aremore broadly applicable to the verification of ownership for any kind oftoken that can be associated with an owner on a blockchain. Furthermore,were the example of the exchange of an NFT ownership identifierexchanged between two users who are present at the same locale andcapable of exchanging a physical representation of an NFT ownershipidentifier was used as an example throughout this disclosure, some ofthe approaches disclosed herein are more broadly applicable to usersthat are not in the same locale and that are communicating remotely suchas through the Internet or some other means of communication. These andother modifications and variations to the present invention may bepracticed by those skilled in the art, without departing from the scopeof the present invention, which is more particularly set forth in theappended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for verifying a nonfungible token (NFT)comprising: receiving an NFT owner identifier from a verifier device,wherein the NFT owner identifier was transferred from an owner device tothe verifier device, at a locale, using a physical representation of theNFT owner identifier; verifying ownership of an NFT using the NFT owneridentifier; and returning ownership verification data of the NFT to theverifier device.
 2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:registering the NFT with a blockchain shell system; and whereinregistering the NFT with the blockchain shell system includes generatingthe NFT owner identifier.
 3. The method of claim 2, wherein registeringthe NFT comprises: transferring the NFT via an entry on a blockchain. 4.The method of claim 2, wherein registering the NFT comprises: accessinga blockchain to find a public key associated with the NFT; andrequesting a message encrypted with a private key associated with theNFT.
 5. The method of claim 1, further comprising: registering the NFTwith a blockchain shell system; and wherein registering the NFT with theblockchain shell system includes generating the NFT owner identifier forstorage on an owner device, wherein the NFT owner identifier internallyidentifies an owner of the owner device in a blockchain shell system. 6.The method of claim 1, further comprising: registering the NFT with ablockchain shell system, wherein registering the NFT with the blockchainshell system includes storing a full legal name for an owner in theblockchain shell system; wherein the ownership verification data of theNFT includes the full legal name for the owner.
 7. The method of claim1, further comprising: the physical representation of the NFT owneridentifier is a visual encoding presented on a display of an ownerdevice; and the NFT owner identifier is transferred from the ownerdevice to the verifier device using an optical sensor on the verifierdevice.
 8. The method of claim 1, wherein: the NFT owner identifier is apublic wallet identifier associated with the NFT on a blockchain; andverifying ownership of the NFT includes accessing the blockchain andrequesting a message encrypted with a private key associated with thepublic wallet identifier.
 9. The method of claim 1, wherein verifyingownership of the NFT using the NFT owner identifier comprises: searchinga database of a blockchain shell system for the NFT owner identifierusing the NFT owner identifier.
 10. The method of claim 1, whereinverifying ownership of the NFT using the NFT owner identifier comprises:searching a database of a blockchain shell system for a public walletidentifier using the NFT owner identifier; and accessing a blockchain toverify that the public wallet identifier is associated with the NFT onthe blockchain.
 11. The method of claim 1, wherein verifying ownershipof the NFT using the NFT owner identifier comprises: delivering a linkto the NFT on a blockchain with the ownership verification data.
 12. Themethod of claim 1, further comprising: issuing an electronicidentification card for the NFT owner identifier; wherein the electronicidentification card is stored in a wallet application on the ownerdevice; and wherein the physical representation is part of theelectronic identification card.
 13. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising: sending a personal information disclosure incentive for apersonal information disclosure authorization to the owner device;receiving the personal information disclosure authorization from theowner device; and releasing personal information after: (i) receivingthe personal information disclosure authorization; and (ii) verifyingownership of the NFT using the NFT owner identifier.
 14. The method ofclaim 13, further comprising: registering the NFT with a blockchainshell system, wherein registering the NFT with the blockchain shellsystem includes storing the personal information for an owner in theblockchain shell system; and wherein registering the NFT with theblockchain shell system includes generating the NFT owner identifier.15. One or more non-transitory computer-readable media storinginstructions that, when executed by one or more processors, cause asystem to execute a method for verifying a nonfungible token (NFT)comprising: receiving an NFT owner identifier from a verifier device,wherein the NFT owner identifier was transferred from an owner device tothe verifier device, at a locale, using a physical representation of theNFT owner identifier; verifying ownership of an NFT using the NFT owneridentifier; and returning ownership verification data of the NFT to theverifier device.
 16. The one or more non-transitory computer-readablemedia of claim 15, wherein the method further comprises: registering theNFT with a blockchain shell system; and wherein registering the NFT withthe blockchain shell system includes generating the NFT owneridentifier.
 17. The one or more non-transitory computer-readable mediaof claim 15, wherein the method further comprises: registering the NFTwith a blockchain shell system; and generating the NFT owner identifierfor storage on an owner device, wherein the NFT owner identifierinternally identifies an owner of the owner device in a blockchain shellsystem.
 18. The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media ofclaim 15, wherein the method further comprises: sending a personalinformation disclosure incentive for a personal information disclosureauthorization to the owner device; receiving the personal informationdisclosure authorization from the owner device; and releasing personalinformation after: (i) receiving the personal information disclosureauthorization; and (ii) verifying ownership of the NFT using the NFTowner identifier.
 19. The one or more non-transitory computer-readablemedia of claim 18, wherein the method further comprises: registering theNFT with a blockchain shell system, wherein registering the NFT with theblockchain shell system includes storing personal identifyinginformation for an owner in the blockchain shell system; and whereinregistering the NFT with the blockchain shell system includes generatingthe NFT owner identifier.
 20. A system for verifying a nonfungible token(NFT) comprising: one or more servers configured to receive an NFT owneridentifier from a verifier device, wherein the NFT owner identifier wastransferred from an owner device to the verifier device, at a locale,using a physical representation of the NFT owner identifier; wherein theone or more servers are further configured to verify ownership of an NFTusing the NFT owner identifier; and wherein the one or more servers arefurther configured to return ownership verification data of the NFT tothe verifier device.